A World Without Sound
by MikiMiki-chan
Summary: Welcome to the D.Gray-Man world without sound. In other words, this tale tells of the life of a deaf child who has been chosen by Innocence; and whose fate becomes twined with those at the Dark Order after she pulls through a rocky start.
1. Chapter 1

Trapped: back to the wall, death staring at her straight in the face. There was no escape. The bulbous mass of gray floated towards her, its tortured eyes and smirking face made her small frame tremble with terror. A small click told her that its tube-like guns that jutted from it core; that held its deadly poison, were aimed at her. It was over. Her nightmare had come to life and was going to kill her. It was all over. Purple light emanated from its guns. The poison, that she had seen turn skin to black soot, was imminent.

Tremors ran down her spine and her heart fluttered erratically like a bird trying to fly with a broken wing. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her mouth had run dry. Her body was telling her to run or fight, but she knew she couldn't do either. She could only close her hazel eyes and wait to die. …

Nothing. Confused, she wondered if she was truly dead: could dying really be so painless? Slowly, she opened her eyes. The purple glow had been replaced by a brilliant green that dazzled her eyes. While blinking in an effort to clear her vision of the glare, she put her arm to her forehead. Surprisingly, the light intensified severely. Quickly she lowered her arm; and that's when she noticed that the light moved when she did so—the light… the light was coming from her very own forearms.

Rendered blind, the gray demon shrieked and let loose random fire. With a yelp, the girl ducked to narrowly avoid a fatal purple blast. Not knowing what to do, she looked down at her arms. There she found, from the bottoms of her pinkies to her elbows, long, silver feathers; lined with, and glowing, green. They were pointed as well, she observed. Looking up, she saw the demon going berserk: spinning around and smashing into the alley walls; all the while firing arbitrarily. She knew what she had to do now. Her entire body knew. It tensed and readied. She had to fight: to defeat this threat to her existence if she wished to continue it.

Ducking to avoid the vast majority of bullets, she crept forward towards the flailing fiend. Suddenly a flash of purple light came towards her. With a yelp she dodge-rolled to the side, allowing the noxious energy to smash into the ground where she just was with a loud boom. The sound resonated her eardrums and she could feel her quickened heartbeat pound in her skull. Shaking her head made her slightly dizzy at first, but eventually got the ringing in her cranium to cease its echoing. Looking up, through watery hazel eyes, she saw the gray blur; purple streams still streaking out of it. Preparation: she blinked her eyes to clear them: she flexed her arms; feeling the dagger-like feathers move with her muscles. Deadly she was, and she realized it.

The opportunity to strike came when the monster became tilted backwards after hitting yet another object. Suddenly, some anomalous instinct took over and the girl dashed forward, her glowing arms seeming to lead her on. Her target was in range. Jumping, she put her arms up with a yell. Then she and her arms came down fast; smashing into the hard, gray bulk. The sensation of the blades that were attached to her flesh sinking into the foe was an odd one; and the moments seemed to creep along—as if everything were underwater. Suddenly a loud explosion and harsh light broke the time lapse and threw the girl back.

Thud! Went her back as it hit the wall of the alley. Momentarily paralyzed, she slid to the ground; limp as a rag doll. The dust thrown up by the demon's explosion started to settle, coating her with a thin, grimy layer. Without realizing it, the girl's weapons disappeared into her flesh. She closed her eyes to wait for the stinging pain to fade away.


	2. Chapter 2

All fell silent before her senses recovered. Slowly, carefully, she opened her eyes. The air burned them slightly, and she blinked a couple of times. Looking around, she noticed that everything seemed dull and indistinct. She pondered this, and her only explanations were that either the dust was still thick in the air; or she really did have heightened sense during that moment.

That moment…. No, it was too soon to think that over now. First she had to get home: home to ma and pa. With this thought in mind, she stood up warily. Surprisingly, her limbs were stable. She looked herself over, seeing only minor scrapes and a couple tears in her clothes. First she smiled, happy that she wasn't harmed; then she frowned a bit, confused on how this was so; and finally she grimaced. How could her parents ever believe her when she had no injuries to prove what had happened? Even her forearms had no existing evidence that there ever had been glowing green, weapon-like feathers protruding from them.

With a sigh, she looked at the darkening gray heavens above; thinking of how instead of awe, all her ma and pa were going to give her was a scolding for coming home late. While her feet carried her to her home, her mind tried to scrape up something good to tell her parents. Maybe telling the truth would be enough, she thought, and maybe, just maybe, they'll believe me…? It was a desperate thought at best.

Each of the dim lights took its turn passing over then behind her as she made her way down a narrow city street. She clutched her slightly tattered woolen coat to her rather flat chest as a stray early winter wind blew up around her; playing with her light brown hair as well as making colored and dried leaves that had fallen from their branches dance about. This caused a small smile to form upon her lips. Well, she might as well enjoy the walk home, she thought, because once she got there all hell would break loose. A deep inhale, meant to relax her nerves, brought the scent of hibernating maple saplings and dew up to greet her senses. Oh, what to tell them….

She wasn't fond of the thought of telling them the truth; because for one thing, they may think her as crazy, or that's she was lying to cover up something naughty. Though she wasn't able to come up with any good lies either—she couldn't say that she was mugged, because then her mother would never let her walk alone anywhere anymore. She also couldn't say that she had simply stopped somewhere to grab a bite to eat, because her dad would be furious at her for spending money unnecessarily.

Nothing good had come to mind, and she was already quietly opening the front door; hoping to God that they would be busy this one night doing extra work or reading…. But no such luck. They were both there waiting for her just inside the door, wearing stern expressions. Her tongue moved around in her mouth in a futile attempt to wet it, or somehow magically conjure some fantastical, foolproof excuse. Her father raised her eyebrow in silent question. Why are you late?

Blinking at them innocently was her stalling start, allowing her to try and think of what to tell them. Nothing nothing nothing nothing. Her mind had outright failed her. She sighed in defeat; there was only the truth left to tell. Putting her hands up, she began signing to them what had happened. First she told them that she had been doing what she was supposed to at first; going straight from school to the library to get some books that she needed. Then she told them of what held her back; about the demon and the mysterious weapons that came from her. When she was done, she put her hands down and looked at the two of them pleadingly. She saw them glance at each other, then back at her. Her mother told her to not move an inch and they'd be right back. The two of them walked to the kitchen to discuss.

Darn, she thought, I won't be able to read their lips if they don't stay. But she just sighed; there was nothing she could do about that. So she waited patiently, trying not to think of her impending demise. Soft, urgent vibrations shook the air so slightly she just barely picked them up. A tender tremble ran up her spine; was there fear in those sounds? Her feet longed to rush over there; her eyes longed to see, to know: but some force held her fast to the wooden floor.


	3. Chapter 3

And, to her frustration, they took their time in discussing: probably were having a hard time thinking of the best punishment that didn't break any laws. But finally, she felt their footsteps drawing near; and she drew in a breath. As they came in, her eyes went to their faces. Surprisingly, they held no anger, skepticism; and instead they looked almost thoughtful, and their eyes held a worried light. She tilted her head to the side, very much confused.

Is something wrong? She asked her mother. The girl's mother seemed to think carefully; then the girl saw her sigh. Come sit. Her mother signed, then both her parents took a seat on the couch, leaving a space between them for their daughter. Without hesitation, the young child took her seat and looked inquisitively at her mother. Dearest, she started; then paused to think. The girl felt the vibrations of her father's voice behind her. Her mother started up again. There's something that we've been keeping from you, for your own good, but now we think it's time we told you.

The young child could hardly hold in the great feeling of betrayal that filled her. How could they keep _any_thing from her? Didn't they _always_ say secrets were bad? This is what she wanted to ask, but she went with a more neutral question. Well what is it? Her mother sighed again. Honey, you are—she paused; then restarted—Well, your dad and I… are not your biological parents.

Said adopted child gawked at her guardian, at a loss. At first she hoped it was a joke, and looked from one to the other to detect a hidden teasing grin; but she didn't find it. Both faces were very solemn and serious; and waiting for her response. Blinking didn't help the spinning in her head. But… no way, they had to be her parents… there's no way… they've always… A hand of each of the girl's guardians went on either of her shoulders. It was a casual touch that she was accustomed to; but now it felt strangely foreign.

But, you are my parents. The girl signed quickly. Her foster mother spoke what she signed so her father understood. You raised me, she continued, you've taken good care of me and I love you so much. You are my parents… The woman by her side wiped her eyes, paused, and then replied. We love you too sweetie. But our job was only to take care of you until your 'powers' showed themselves. And they have. Now you have to go to a place called "The Black Order" and there—but the girl cut her off by standing abruptly. She was furious. There was no way she was going to lose her parents just because…!

She turned to face them and informed them that she would not be going anywhere. The girl's female guardian rose slowly. There's nothing we can do; she signed, looking at her adopted child with a tender expression. It was a legal thing. And besides, she added, you'll have lots of fun there. And you might meet your real parents. The youth stomped her foot. They aren't my parents! You two are! She protested, angry tears flowing down her cheeks. Her male guardian rose and both embraced her. Clinging to them, the girl let the sobs of rage and grief out.

Eventually their gentle swaying and the comforting vibrations of their voices calmed her down. They knelt down so they'd be at her level, and together they wiped her tears away; though they had tears of their own on their cheeks. Sniffling, the girl gathered herself. When do I have to leave? She inquired reluctantly. This winter break was the answer she received. That was three weeks away. … She had three weeks left until she was sent off to some alien place: three weeks left until she was taken away from the people whom had raised her.


	4. Chapter 4

*****

Soon, too soon, my day of departure came. Suitcase in my hand, winter wind blowing around my auburn hair, I stood before the long, large, slightly rusted collection of metal: more commonly known as a train. The now all to familiar feeling of estrangement rested heavily on my chest as my foster parents and I gave each other one last goodbye. Once I stepped on the train, I felt the connection split; and it was then I truly realized this was all absolute.

I didn't look back.

There isn't much I can say about the train ride. It was long, boring and smelly for the most part. Nearly everyone slept, sending irritating, irregular vibrations echoing about in the small space. This combined with my restless mind kept me from sleeping the whole 14 hours. Alone I sat in one of the hard, rickety booths: having only landscape after landscape to keep me company.

Eventually my thoughts ended up drifting to where I would be going; though I knew they would, it was rather expected. The place was called "The Black Order"… And I think I might have heard of it perhaps once or twice before. Apparently my 'real' parents worked there as "Finders" though I didn't know what that was supposed to mean; was their job to locate lost things? That seems pointless… And the more I thought about going there, the less I wanted to.

And if I hadn't earlier established a dislike towards the place, those thoughts probably wouldn't have meant anything; but since I did, it drove me to do something I'd never even considered doing before.

I had decided upon it before I reached my drop-off destination, though I couldn't execute it until the train had stopped there. The only hard part about it was to keep my face serene though my heart hammered hard in my chest; and the hair on the back of my neck stood straight with anticipation and anxiety. Keeping from tapping my foot or fidgeting as the still bleary commuters languidly collected their things and waddled out the exit was also a challenge. But I did it.

Winter air feels colder when it hits you after being in an undersized, overcrowded space for so long; I realized. A deep breath cleared my mind of all things except what I was about to do. Once the forest of neutral colored trench coats parted I could see the sky: perfectly black except the starts that speckled it and a slender crescent moon that hung low. Black sky means dark; and dark means it is hard to see: and hard to see means no unwanted gaze would rest upon me. At least there was something making this easier.

With my chapped lips slightly parted to let my quickened breath pass quietly in and out, I quickly scanned the grounds for a proper path: one that was hidden but somewhat clear. Wouldn't want to be crashing through the underbrush while trying to perform a surreptitious escape.

Ah, finally! I spotted an opening: an opportunity to take fate into my own hands! After a quick glance around to ensure no one would see, I silently stole away into the foliage: between two sage bushes.


	5. Chapter 5

*****

Though, unbeknownst to the fugitive, there was a pair of eyes that caught her in this act: a man clothed in a long, beige trench coat. He was assigned to accompany the young lady to the next travel point; and he saw her quietly creep into the scrubs.

Too large to make chase, the man quickly glanced about; taking mental note of his location and the direction the child was going. He then pulled out a miniscule black triangular-shaped object, which had two black bat-like wings; and, a white spot on its front: which he pushed. The item responded; it lit up momentarily, then its little wings came to life and it took flight.

Hovering next to the man's head is where it stayed until a voice emitted from it. "Is something the matter Finder Ray?"

Said Finder cleared his dry throat to better respond to his supervisor. "Yes Komui sir. The girl, the child you set me to get, uhm… Sort of took off: into the bushes. I can't get to her."

Komui's voice was whimsical at first, "Oh, oh dear. What a naughty child: though I expect no less from the offspring of the Maijins!" he chuckled shortly then his voice became serious. "Well, write down her last seen location and direction." The Finder did so as his boss continued. "And then come on back to Headquarters so you can gather up the search team. Then you can head back out and start looking."

"Understood, sir. Over and out." Another push on the hovering black thing ceased its movement and the voice of his commander. Once it was pocketed, the Finder started back to where he came: the Black Order.

_What should have taken hours stretched into days. Days stretched into months; and months stretched to years. The daughter of the Maijins proved to be more elusive than those at the Black Order had ever anticipated. Frustration led to more and more Finders and even hounds to be sent out in search of this teenage girl._

_Meanwhile, the now 13-year-old escapee lived in the streets, never staying in one place for too long: for she was aware of those that hunted her. She knew only the life of absconding: and she never thought any different. For her it was much easier to simply avoid the men in the taupe trench coats and not wonder why._


	6. Chapter 6

Another day of overcast! How lovely! I thought, as I looked at the predictable gray sky. Feet dangling over the edge of a building, I looked down into the alley below; my hand running delicately over the rough, damp brick on which I sat. They should be coming any time now: "they" being those men and their dogs, which were always after me. It's been three years now, I believe, since that night I took fate into my own hands. They've been after me ever since.

Since it has been so long, evading them has become almost a habit: and a fun one at that. Thinking of new ways to hoodwink them always kept my mind busy; and pulling off my mad ploys was always entertaining.

Oh, here they come.

"Are you sure it was this way?"

"No, but this is where the dogs are going. Look." The man pointed at something on the ground and the others looked. I looked too. Their hounds were sniffing at the trail of scraps of my old clothing.

"Oh yeah! Look at this cloth! It must be that girls; she probably tore it while running away from us. She's got to be nearby…" My eyes rolled. Stop talking and just fall for my trap, idiots. Patience was not something I had lately.

The dogs continued following the trail straight down the middle of the alley while their masters looked around. Discreetly, the dogs followed my trail off to the sides of the alley; and, just like I planned, the men kept walking down the middle. Bad idea.

A forceful vibration issued from the lot of them as they set my trap off; which captured them all in a nice little net and suspended them about 10 feet off the ground.

Many various, aggravated vibrations emitted from the net. What could be funnier than half a dozen grown men squished together in a tiny trap all the while dangling far from the floor? I sighed. Many things apparently… _why_ wasn't this funny? It should be hilarious! Marveling at my handiwork again didn't even spur a smile. Though pondering what could possibly be wrong with me while my pursuers hung up at my level _and _while I was in the open was not one of my brightest acts.

"Ahhh!! That girl! _The _girl!! Look! Look! She's right there! Call the others! Quickly, quickly!!" said the mass as it wriggled around. The excited vibrations snapped me out of my trance, and I glanced up. Oh, they've spotted me… great.

Quickly I swung my legs to the other side of the roof's border wall and hopped down to the floor. The dogs added in their piercing vibrations as I hastily made my way to the trap door that led back into the building.

"She went that way!" "Get us down!" "Ow! Gee, could you be more difficult!" "Yow!" "Quickly, that way!!" Even them scrambling around and shouting like chickens with their heads cut off didn't amuse me… Must be the weather.

Opening the hatch and climbing down the ladder was easy: beings that I've done it so many times before. But, as I was reaching the bottom, something touched—no, _grabbed_—my leg. All my muscles tensed and my heart and lungs instantly kicked into overdrive. In the next instant my leg jerked away from its captor but to no avail: the grip just tightened. The increased pressure allowed me to feel the four—five—individual pressure points: fingers. A hand.

Something rumbled inside my chest and escaped my parted lips though I don't know what it was. However, this caused the hand to yank down hard on my leg: ripping me from the ladder. Falling backwards wasn't pleasant in itself, not to mention that a hand got clamped over my mouth.

Since it was a bit dark, struggling was the only way I realized that I was in the grip of someone; the hand they had around my foot wasn't there anymore, but they had an arm wrapped around my middle in a restraining way; and my back rested against their warm, hard chest. Now I really started to panic: it must be one of those men—finally captured me—they're going to take me to that place!

No! No!! _No!!_


	7. Chapter 7

*****

Why do girls have to scream so damn much?

"I said I'm not going to hurt you—relax already!!" yelled the clearly flustered young man as the thirteen-year-old girl struggled to get out of his grip. He pressed his hand harder to her mouth and she let out another shrill shriek. 'It's like she can't hear herself!! … Oh wait…'

-_Flashback- "Now remember Yuu-kun, don't destroy anything or hurt the girl while trying to get her, okay?" the aging man warned his dark-haired, teenage apprentice. "I get it already Master Tiedoll! Can't I just actually start the mission now?" responded the impatient youth. "Yes," started the man, which caused the boy start to swiftly depart, "Ah, but one more thing! It is very important!" the youth stopped, an anger mark pulsating on his head. "Yes, Master?" "The girl is deaf. Which means she doesn't have the ability to hear. So, she may be quite uncooperative; though she probably would be nonetheless." He laughed. "Right, sure, whatever." Snapped the youth, leaving his master to chuckle unaccompanied._

_-End flashback-_

'She really can't hear… that's right. But now what?' The girl continued to writhe wildly. 'Maybe if I use a calmer voice? Che, it's worth a shot.' "Hey, look, I'm not going to hurt you, okay? So just cool it…"

The girl paused momentarily, and he could feel her heart throb thunderously like a frightened rabbit's. He almost felt sympathetic, but his impatience got the better of this. 'This is taking too long. Why did they have to send _me_ on this _stupid_ mission to get this _deserter?_ —And a _disabled_ one at that. People like her don't even _belong _in the world… But, a mission is a mission. And there's _no_ way the likes of her are going to make me fail it.'

Then an idea occurred to him. Crudely, he slung the girl over his shoulder and proceeded towards the stairs: despite her unrelenting flailing. 'Well, at least this—ouch—works.' Though unfortunately for him, there was no way to stop the girl's screaming this way. So, when he got outside…

"Ah, there you are! We'd thought you'd gone and killed the girl from all the yelling we heard: we were quite concerned Kanda-sama!" the boy addressed twitched.

"I was told not to hurt her, baka. Why would I hurt her." The coldness of the statement and the youth's stare made the Finder shift uncomfortably. Impatient as always, said adolescent continued, "Well, let's get her to the Black Order already."

"Oh, right," replied the flustered Finder, "follow me."

"One moment." Kanda said with a sigh.

He set the detainee on the ground without letting her out of his grip: lest she should try to escape. 'Wait, how do I communicate with a deaf person…' He looked at the Finder. "Is there any way to talk to her?"

"Huh? Oh, the girl, yes. Ah…" The finder collected his thoughts, "you just speak slowly—I believe she can read lips."

Kanda returned his attention to the girl. She looked away defiantly when his gaze rested on her. With cheeks stained by tears and her eyes held more, as well as submissive light, he figured she would comply with what he had to ask. Though, as he looked more closely, her eyes were the only part of her that showed any sort of meekness. Keeping her shoulders square and her back straight, despite the harsh grip of her captor, she held a self-righteous, rebellious facade.

'Che! Some nerve this brat has!' thought Kanda with a scowl. 'Well, whatever.' Roughly, he grabbed her face to make her face him. Startled, she glared intensely at him.

"Listen," he started slowly; but as soon as he said this, the girl's eyes swiftly went away from his face. 'Damn girl!' Growling, he gripped her face tighter, making her wince.

"Che! Look at me already!" Though she didn't understand what he said, she got the message. Reluctantly, her eyes returned to his face.

'Finally!!' He then began speaking to her, slowly, "We are going to ride a carriage to our next destination. You have two options. 1: you can cooperate and not try to escape, or would you rather 2: me carry you the whole way?"

The girl huffed, puffed, and rolled her eyes. Kanda twitched violently. 'She is _really_ getting on my nerves!!' "_Well?" _he growled irritably. After another moment the girl sighed and put up her index finger: '1.'

"_Good,_" Kanda snapped crossly,_ "_Now let's _go_ already."

The Finder, who now had a frightened expression, nodded curtly. "Uh, err… this way Kanda-sama." He headed off. Kanda tightly gripped the girl's arm, just above the elbow, then followed. With an annoyed sigh, the girl walked alongside him: though she didn't have much other choice.


End file.
